"Your Majesty, I have my own report! I am impeaching Master Tu, Minister of the Ministry of War, for diverting a large number of troops from the Imperial Guards, resulting in the defense of the capital being empty. Please forgive me!"
"Your Majesty, I am impeaching Master Wang, the Minister of Household Affairs, for embezzling money and rice from the treasury without permission. Your Majesty, please investigate thoroughly!"
"Your Majesty! The generals of the Imperial Guard in the capital have left their posts without permission and have not been at their posts for three days!"
…
As soon as Zhao Yizhi went to court that day, the ministers started fighting each other and impeaching each other for the crimes of other ministers. There was a lot of disturbance in the court.
"Okay, stop arguing."
Zhao Yizhi replied lazily, and the noise in the court immediately fell silent, making you feel the silence.
Zhao Yizhi glanced at it and said, "Where is Tu Youhui, Minister of the Ministry of War?"
"The minister is here!" Tu Youhui stood up from among the ministers.
"Play!"
"I obey the order! Your Majesty is informed that the troops and horses from the five regions have been assembled, totaling 300,000, and have set off from their respective subordinate areas. The 200,000 Yulin Army in the capital has also been assembled and can set off early tomorrow morning! The army totals five One hundred thousand, let’s go to the north together.”
Zhao Yizhi nodded: "It is not easy to raise an army of five hundred thousand, but it takes more than ten days to do it."
"This is a matter of personal responsibility!" After Tu Youhui finished speaking, he stood back to his position.
"Where is Mr. Wang Sihongwang, Minister of the Ministry of Finance?"
Zhao Yizhi called another person.
"I'm here! Your Majesty, I'm telling you that the army's food, grass, and military supplies are all ready. All preparations have been completed and have set off with the Yulin Army! However... after this deployment, the national treasury is empty..."
"Can your salary still be paid?"
Wang Sihong lowered his head. This question was asked in the court, and he didn't know how to answer it.
Zhao Yizhi just stared at him quietly without urging him. Many ministers were sweating for Wang Sihong. It didn't matter whether he answered or not...
Wang Sihong gritted his teeth, and after saying "loyalty to the emperor and patriotism" in his heart, he replied: "Your Majesty, your lords' salaries will be reduced by half next month..."
"How much is the deficit? Is my small treasury sufficient to make up for the deficit?"
"Not enough..."
Wang Sihong was appointed as the Minister of the Ministry of Household Affairs, and he knew all the money in the court. The loopholes in his salary were really too big!
"If it's not enough, we can make up for the loss from the palace's food banknotes."
Make up for the loss from the palace's food banknotes?
When all the ministers heard this, they were all shocked and knelt down: "Your Majesty, you must not do this!"
To put it bluntly, the dining silver in the palace is actually the emperor's dining silver. What kind of delicacies can the eunuchs and maids eat? If there is a missing hole, the emperor's table will be missing a plate of delicacies.
Taking money from the emperor's mouth is a strange thing in the world, which has never happened before.
"Everyone, get up, and don't try to persuade me! Every family has a wife, children, mother and daughter, and they are relying on your salary to support me. I am alone, and I will not die if I eat less than a few dishes."
"Your Majesty, the standard of the palace's meal money is not high. If it is deducted any more... it is inconsistent with etiquette! Even if I die on a hunger strike, I will never let Your Majesty go hungry!"
An old minister with white hair and beard said tremblingly.
"Your Majesty, think twice!"
All the ministers knelt down, some hesitated for a moment, then gritted their teeth and knelt down.
"Your Majesty, since ancient times, has any minister been so full that your Majesty can't eat? This salary... I really don't dare to accept it!"
"I really don't dare to accept it."
With this old man taking the lead, all the ministers responded. At this time, all officials, whether sincere or following the crowd, all opposed Zhao Yizhi's proposal.
Zhao Yizhi looked at it intently and said with a smile: "Isn't this the Crown Prince's Shaobao, Master Feng Qifeng? I... I was taken care of a lot when I was young. How is your health lately?"
"Your Majesty is worried about me, but I am scared! I have always been in good health, so I don't bother Your Majesty. Please take back your life!"
"Lao Shao Bao, you suffered unjust injustice in the past and were accused of killing your nephew and imprisoned. Every time I think about it, I feel very sad!"
Feng Qi couldn't help but burst into tears when he thought of the past: "If it weren't for Your Majesty's grace, I would have died!"
Zhao Yizhi knew that people get easily excited when they get older, so he didn't provoke him anymore. He just raised his hand gently, and an invisible force lifted Feng Qi up from the ground.
"Same goes for you adults!"
The ministers were a little stunned, what about me?
"All the gentlemen in the world are all extraordinary talents. Although they have learned literary and martial arts and sold them to the emperor's family, my emperor's family... ha..."
Zhao Yizhi smiled bitterly.
"I failed to give you the value you deserve. In those years, the country was in turmoil and all the kings were precarious, but they still cared about their careers. I will remember them all!"
"Mr. Li, your mother is ill and takes medicine every day for supplements, which costs six to seventy taels of silver. Your monthly salary is only eighty taels, why are you kneeling down?"
"Master Pangda, your wife has seven sons. How can the whole family live without a salary?"
"I will not point out the remaining gentlemen one by one. You are honest and honest in your daily life. I have eyes to see and ears to hear. I am neither blind nor deaf. This matter has been decided. If there are any objections again, don't blame me for being ruthless! "
Zhao Yizhi pointed out the two ministers in the crowd. With his spiritual consciousness, what else in the world could be hidden from him? It can be said that these two ministers have endured extreme hardships, but just now they gritted their teeth and knelt down...
"Your Majesty, it has been six years since the Northern Yi troops retreated... The country is safe and the people are happy, so why bother to use weapons rashly again!" Feng Qi choked with sobs.
"It's true that the Northern Yi troops are retreating, but it's not true that they are at peace!"
Zhao Yizhi sighed and said: "The Northern Yi is the root of Daqi's worries. Although we have temporarily withdrawn our troops, the thieves who invaded from the south will not die and will not be eradicated for a day, which will eventually lead to disaster. Moreover, I have received military information that the Northern Yi soldiers will Within a year, they will definitely invade my Daqi territory again!"
"I have made up my mind. I will fight Beiyi until death. Please don't give me any more advice!"
Feng Qi looked at Zhao Yizhi and straightened his stooped waist slightly: "Is your Majesty determined to do this?"
Zhao Yizhi was about to stand up and announce his resignation. Seeing Feng Qi like this, he sat back and said, "Master Feng, what else do you have to say?"
Feng Qi trembled and was about to kneel down again. Zhao Yizhi was about to raise his hand, but he said slowly: "Your Majesty, wait a moment."
"I know that Your Majesty is wise and powerful, and he always thinks about the country, the country, the people, and even the rotten wooden reliefs on the palace like us. I feel very deeply about it!"
"I am old. I have been sitting in the position of Shaobao for more than 20 years without any achievements. Your Majesty has just let it go. Now I want to do my best for Daqi and Your Majesty. I hope Your Majesty will not refuse!"
Zhao Yizhi narrowed his eyes and asked, "What do you want, Lao Shao Bao?"
"I still have some money and food left in my family, but I have no heirs. I am willing to donate my family assets to fill the national treasury to help His Majesty's grand plan!"
Feng Qi's words were resounding, even louder in the quiet court.
"That's right! Is it okay for both young and old to keep seven percent of the family assets and donate the rest to the national treasury?"
Zhao Yizhi's voice was soft and even more ethereal in the hall.
"Old minister... I am willing to donate all my family assets, and I hope your majesty will approve it!" Feng Qi banged his head heavily and knelt on the ground.
"Boom~!"
This sound seemed to hit the hearts of everyone in the hall. Wang Zhenliang quietly turned sideways and wiped the corners of his eyes with his sleeves.
"Young and old, please think twice!" Zhao Yizhi stood up unconsciously.
"I hope your Majesty will grant you permission!!"
"Boom!!"
There was another ringing sound, much heavier than the one just now.
Zhao Yizhi was silent for a moment, looking at the gray hair on Feng Qi's head, and the memories of his childhood that did not belong to him emerged in front of him.
"…accurate performance."
Zhao Yizhi had no choice but to do so. The treasury really needed money...
"Your Majesty, I am willing to donate...eight percent of my family wealth!"
"Your Majesty, I have hundreds of acres of fertile land!"
"Your Majesty...the fourth of my seven sons has grown up and can serve the country!"
The crowd was furious, and many ministers knelt down in the hall one by one, kowtowing one after another.
"Dong dong dong dong dong..."
The sound of kowtows is endless.
Ask yourself, Your Majesty is treating them with utmost benevolence and justice.
In the past ten years of his reign, except for Chen Yu, Chen Jing, and Li Changwen, no one was dismissed from office or beheaded.
Now that Daqi has suddenly suffered such a disaster, even His Majesty has reduced his budget. How can they remain indifferent?
After all, human hearts are made of flesh.
The sound of "dong dong dong" echoed in his ears over and over again. Zhao Yizhi closed his eyes and shed two lines of clear tears slowly.
"Your Majesty..." Wang Zhenliang reminded in a low voice from the side.
The officials have been kowtowing for too long.
"Accurate!"
As soon as the sound came out, the ministers raised their heads and glanced at each other. Some people's heads were already red and swollen; some had bloody red blood; some were so beaten that their clothes were disheveled and they were quite embarrassed.
The ministers laughed, and the laughter spread outside the palace, seeming to float far away.
After going to court, the ministers all walked back to the court with their heads held high and their chests high and majestic. The guards who didn't know it thought that all the adults in the court had been promoted and given countless silver coins.
Zhao Yizhi sat alone in the empty lobby and called softly: "Historian!"
An official holding a writing brush quickly stepped forward to listen to the order: "I am here!"
"How to remember it?"
According to the rules, even as the emperor, Zhao Yizhi had no right to influence the writings of the historian, or even to hear it. If you really want to listen, you can only listen to the deeds of the previous emperor.
The historian hesitated for a while. He was an upright person, but now he slowly opened the history book and read: "All the officials in the court responded and donated money and food. The emperor was very pleased and the report was accurate."
"Change!" Zhao Yizhi spat out one word softly, but his words carried an unquestionable meaning.
The historian bowed and said, "Please give me your Majesty's instructions."
"Describe everything that the ministers have done, be sure to describe it in detail! Also, record all the names of all the adults in the annals of history! No one can be missing!"
The historian held the history book and pushed it aside, sighed softly, and recorded the names of the civil and military officials in the morning dynasty one by one.
…
A few days later, no one knew who leaked the news, and the people in the capital carried their money, food and property outside the palace gate.
Even the usually idle street kids were not moved when they saw the mountains of property. Instead, they took the initiative to stand aside and acted as bodyguards for the money, food and property, watching the people coming and going vigilantly.
"The people's support can be used..."
